But when Paille is playing like he did yesterday, he can be a game-changing element because of his speed. On set faceoff plays in the defensive zone, the Bruins can ice the puck or bank long passes off the wall because of their confidence in Paille’s wheels. Paille can also be an ornery forechecker because of how quickly he can close on puck carriers.
“Just persistent, I guess,’’ Paille said of his chances yesterday. “At one point, you want to help the team out with something, whether it’s scoring a goal or not. One thing for me is always about effort. I wanted to do more today.’’
In the second period, Paille was nearing the end of his shift. When he saw Jimmy Howard leave his crease to play the puck behind the net, Paille stayed on the ice. Nathan Horton picked off Howard’s pass, then spotted Paille going to the net. Paille scored his third goal of the season at 4:05.
“I thought I’d try and stay on the strong side just in case the puck went there,’’ Paille said. “Horty made a great play. He read the play and gave it to me a lot sooner than I thought.’’
It’s been awhile
Winnipeg, the erstwhile Atlanta franchise, visits TD Garden tonight for the first time in its new iteration. Ex-Bruins Blake Wheeler and Mark Stuart have found contributing roles for the Jets. And former Bruin Shane Hnidy is the Jets’ radio analyst.
“It’s really important,’’ Patrice Bergeron said of forgetting about yesterday’s 3-2 shootout loss to the Red Wings. “We’re playing a good team. Winnipeg’s a team that we’re aware of some of their players. They’re young. They’re starting to build a good core of players. It’s going to be a tough game.’’
The Bruins can start a new winning streak tonight.
